August

2019

Flight Lines

Cover Page: One of the best Float Planes events ever. Big turn out and fantastic weather. What more could we ask for ? The same on August 25 please…. 2 FLIGHT LINES HAMILTON MODEL AERO CLUB INC. August 2019 www.hamiltonmac.org.nz

PATRON Graeme Bradley

PRESIDENT Grant Finlay 027-273-7461 VICE PRESIDENT Gordon Meads 021-125-2911 SECRETARY Alan Rowson 07-843-3889 TREASURER Alan Rowson 021-025-93002 CLUB CAPTAIN Sel Melville 027-482-3459 BULLETIN Ed. Dave Crook 021-123-6040 (Editorial Email: send to: [email protected] )

COMMITTEE:

Mike Sutton Chris Tynan 022-353-9231 – The helpers Sel Melville 027-482-3459 Dave Crook 021-123-6040 Lyndon Perry 021-02518474

WEB SITE Grant Finlay - The boss CATERER Collen Tynan - Don’t bite the hand that feeds you

CLUB NIGHT: Wednesday August 14, 2019 7.30 pm VENUE: Beerescourt Bowling Club 68a Maeroa Road - Hamilton

Club Night Theme: Annual Quiz Night

Club Themed Flying Day: AG (Re-run of June & Julys washed out events)

3 Presidents Report Grant

August is upon us and now the real winter weather seems to have hit us with vengeance, at least it has this week! With a weekend away and some rough weather, I haven’t done much flying in this past month at all, hopefully others had made the effort on the finer days. Mind you I have managed a few hours in the workshop, but as yet there’s not a lot to show for it. I’m currently working on installing radio gear, batteries and a larger tank in the DH Beaver I purchased off Bruce Pickering, so hopefully it will be ready to test out once the weather clears up a bit. Then there’s a need to finish off my Piper Cub on floats, somehow I don’t think that will make it to the lake at the end of August though!. Last months club night saw a number of people bring along their current building projects and it was interesting to see what different aspects of modelling were dragged from their building boards.

I was especially interested with Bens 3D printed for his RC Powered Parasail. With the fully completed fabric Parasail purchased for a ridiculous price from overseas (under $30) and with homemade 3D printed fuselage parts, this makes for a very cheap and practical aircraft and certainly something different to fly. Other projects included Alan Rowsons SE5a WWWI bi-plane that is almost at the point of test flying and my DH Beaver mentioned above. Thanks to all those that brought along their projects and spoke about them

4 August’s club night theme is our great Annual Aviation Quiz night. Sadly, Mikey Wilson is unable to attend as quizmaster this year, however he has done all the hard work and put together another mind bending set of quiz questions. Therefore, we have had to coerce another club member into the role of Quiz Master supreme, the man who has all the answers and is open to suitable bribes, as he no doubt attempted from the other side of the table……so a big drum roll for this years Quiz Master extraordinaire…Frazer “Bogan” Briggs. Yes, Bogan will be the man throwing out the wrong answers and totalling the scores. So this is guaranteed to be a night of laughter, see you there. Julys themed flying day was sadly another washout bowing to the whims of the winter weather, so our second attempt in a row at running an Ag Aircraft day was a total failure. However, never say never, the committee is determined that we will not be beaten and so August will be our third and final attempt at running an AG day.

Ag Plane Day – Take 3 ?

5 If it doesn’t happen this time you will hear the collective sigh from the committee, surely it will be third time lucky! Despite missing out on the Ag day, we still had a very successful float plane day at the beginning of the month with great weather and calm conditions, there is a report elsewhere in the bulletin so I won’t go into any detail. This of course leads into our next float plane day at the end of this month, which again will be out at Lake Kainui (D). So, to wrap up my column, another reminder that safety is one of my biggest concerns for as much fun as our models can be, they can also be extremely dangerous. We acknowledge that Pilot error happens, as does mechanical, radio & electrical issues. None the less, if you do whatever is possible to lessen the occurrence of failure such as careful and regular maintenance checks of your aircraft & flying gear, then that goes a long way to ensuring everyone’s safety.

Sel – HMAC’s Mr Safety

And remember, although it’s great to push your flying skills to the limit, take a steady road to improvement and don’t fly too far outside of your comfort zone, build up your skills over time and progress with success. Right, that’s my lot for the month, enjoy the building if you can’t go flying.

Grant

6

Club Captains Report Sel

Well guys I’m pleased to be back flying again even though it’s a bit strange using a thumb that has no feeling in it which is making control a little difficult. I’ll be dining out on my disability for a while as an excuse for any bad flying observed. It’s been great weather for building, assembling or repairing so hopefully there will be some new models taking to the sky when conditions improve. Well done Erl for cleaning up the mess made after a couple of cows managed to get onto the strip a couple of weeks ago. Your effort was much appreciated.

Another couple of new members this month. Welcome along to Philippe Beau and Jarrod Briggs (that name rings a bell!)

Thank You Erl

A reminder that the speed limit from Collins Road to the field is 30kph so let’s keep the farm owner happy and keep that speed down.

7

8 HMAC’s 2 I.C. Reports on the last Float Plane Day Gordon

I arrived at Lake D Sunday morning and surprise surprise, the gate opened with the key first time...that makes a change! There was heavy fog around but being dead calm the promise of a fine day beckoned. After getting set up with the boat etc., we had a bit of a wait and then suddenly the sun broke through and we were away. There were a couple of visitors from New Plymouth who had gamboled on the weather and made the trip up. Welcome to Keith and Ross who had bought a carload of planes to suit every occasion. They were soon in the air slicing up the sky. Thanks for making the trip guys. There was a very good turnout of club members as well taking advantage of the fantastic winters day, perfect for float plane flying although a couple were heard whinging that we needed a bit of wind to ruffle the water up! Cripes, some people are hard to please!! The smaller electric planes were reveling in the calm conditions as it makes them much easier to fly with improved endurance. Alan was having a good flight with his electric plane until “uh oh” , the magic smoke started escaping. The boat was hastily dispatched and luckily the fire did not spread. He informs me that the aircraft is now getting a re-power to IC. Phil’s lovely Beaver again did not take to the air with more technical problems in evidence, c’mon Phil, we want to see it flying! My newly purchased Sikorsky amphibian was not playing the game but was trying to do a very good submarine impression! More work required there as well. Rex’s Anderson Kingfisher also seemed to be suffering a similar fate so it’s back to the workshop with that as well. This is another plane that has been shown the water a few tines but doesn’t seem to like the air!

9 Lyndon had his new all composite Cessna going in its naked state and initially looked to be going very well. Unfortunately a moment of pilot error on landing saw it skip through the flight line, ending up getting close and personal with a car! Exciting times! However it will be back. Most pilots were having some very good flights, there always seemed to be several planes in the air at any time. The group photo in the pits showed one of the biggest groups of floatplanes we have had. Frazer gave us several demonstrations on how to fly a trainer properly. Wings level, gentle circuits, gently on the elevator, don’t use the rudder, plenty of height, etc, etc ...who am I kidding!! The poor thing got well and truly wrung out until late in the day when it finally had a small swim. Late afternoon everyone seemed to have had enough so we packed up and headed home, all with big smiles on our faces. Next floatplane date is August 25th at Lake D ....be there!

10

Phils Beaver………

Bens Beaver…….. One flew, the other didn’t

11

Gordons Sikorsky

Fraser wringing the bejesus out of his trainer

12 Alan’s SE5a project

Sending some photos of my SE5a that I assembled last week to check if everything fitted ok. It all went together without any problems at all. I will now get on to making the long exhaust pipes for the both sides. Also doing a bit of scale detail with lithoplate . At this stage I have not yet put it on the scales to see what the weight will be. The plane is 1/4 scale with 80in wingspan.

Cheers Alan

13 Aircraft I Dream About—Henry Ford’s Trimotor Bruce Pickering

Mention the name Henry Ford and immediately most people will think of the Model T and the motor car empire that he established. What many people don’t realize is that when he was 18 Ford started his career as an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit. Two years later he was promoted to Chief Engineer, which gave him time to pursue his personal experiments on petrol engines. In 1896 he completed a self propelled vehicle he called the Ford Quadricycle, powered by an ethanol engine of his own design. Encouraged by Thomas Edison, Ford designed and built a second vehicle. From there in 1899 he founded the Detroit Automobile Company. Following years saw the forming and dissolution of various companies, along with the inevitable competition and politics, culminating in the famous Model T in 1908, which firmly established Ford as a prominent motor car manufacturer. In 1924 Henry Ford met William Stout, a pioneering American inventor, engineer, developer and designer who is noted for his groundbreaking work in the automotive

14 and aviation fields. His interest in aviation led him in 1911 to found the Model Aero Club of Illinois, which still exists today as the Illinois Model Aero Club. In 1912 he established Aerial Age, the first aviation magazine ever published in America. Stout kindled the interest of both Henry and his son Edsel in aviation. Being successful in assembly line production of motor cars, Henry felt that he could apply the same sort of methods to building aircraft.

In 1925 Ford acquired the Stout Metal Airplane Company. Stout and Ford built a series of all–metal aeroplanes—not all successful— culminating in the Model 3-AT. But it wasn’t long before Stout had a falling out with the capricious Ford. Ford replaced Stout with his chief engineers, Hicks and Towle, who with other engineers refined the design to produce the Model 4-AT, powered by three 200hp Wright J-4 Whirlwind engines. Called the Ford Trimotor, it was an immediate success, making its first flight in June 1926. It wasn’t long before it received the nickname “Tin Goose.”

15 The Trimotor was of all–metal construction, with a distinctive corrugated skin covering of a new alloy called Alclad that combined the corrosion resistance of aluminium with the strength of duralumin. Its similarity to the Fokker F.VII Trimotor caused some to say that Ford's engineers surreptitiously measured the Fokker aeroplane and then copied it. Whether that is so or not the Ford name gave it an air of superiority. It had room for up to twelve passengers on fairly comfortable wicker seats. Its three deafening Wright engines gave it a cruise speed of 185kph (115 mph). The Trimotor could carry heavy, bulky loads and could operate out of small airfields, making it a versatile aircraft for the time.

Following its inaugural flight in 1926, public interest in the Trimotor and demand for its services mushroomed. By 1929 Henry Ford's aircraft factory had geared up production so that 4 were completed each week. Over the years 199 Trimotors were built and they were flown by airlines and corporations in 21 countries. Transcontinental Air Transport used the Trimotor to inaugurate coast to coast service in America. Production ceased in 1933, when the Ford Airplane Division shut down because of poor sales during the Great Depression.

16 The Trimotor makes a good model. I actually built one back in 1976. By then I was well into building with foam and cardboard and that is what I used for this 2400mm span model. Single sided corrugated cardboard provided a passable imitation of the corrugated aluminium skin employed on the full size aircraft. Because of its size, it had to be transported to the field on a trailer. Nowadays its size would not be considered abnormal. Being large and cavernous, the fuselage made an ideal carryall for things to drop from the air. So, after flying around for a while, I would climb to about 400 feet and drop six parachutes, and the kids would pick them up for the next flight.

It was powered with a Merco .46 on the fuselage and two OS .20 wing engines, the theory being that if one wing engine quit asymmetric thrust would not be much of an issue. As can be imagined, it did not have an excess of power, so had to be handled very carefully. On its final flight (or as Gordon would say “second to last”), one engine did quit, but as Murphy decreed, it was the Merco and being some distance downwind with minimal power, it stalled in the turn and that was that—all part of learning, they say.

Two Pickering Aviation engineers with the almost completed Trimotor

17 GREAT OPPORTUNITY – For Sale

Owing to old age and failing eyesight I have a great deal of aero modelling equipment to sell, some of it unused, plus some complete electric planes ready to fly. Also I will have assorted motors, propellers, wheels and multi other bits and pieces so come and see them at next club night and make an offer. You might be surprised at the bargains that are there for the taking.

P.S. Bring cash but no $50.00 notes please unless you are going to be a big spender. Ken Foster. Phone 07 853 5524 or 021 1009808

______

18 Douglas DC-3 Dakota ZK-AZL

The Douglas DC-3 Dakota ZK-AZL, formerly NZ3545 with the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the end of WWII and served with No's 40 and 41 Squadrons. With the latter unit it served in Singapore during the Malayan Emergency. In 1953 it was loaned for a short period to National Airways Corporation, then returned to the RNZAF and was used in the 1953-54 Royal Tour as a baggage hauler. Sold to Ossie James of James Aviation Ltd on the 14th of May 1954, he had it modified to become the first topdressing DC-3 in the world. After topdressing for 20 years AZK was withdrawn from use in 1974, and ended up at the Museum at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton Airport. In May 2019 ZK-AZL was moved to Te Kowhai Aerodrome and now they are looking for volunteers to help to maintain this lovely old aeroplane. History Credits: Dave Homewood (Wings over NZ Aviation Forum) Anyone interested in joining the maintenance group can email the Te Kowhai Airfield team at [email protected]

19 And Wanted - RCM&E Magazines

I buy the magazine RCM&E and funny enough I get them though a shop in Wellington, for some reason they have skipped several issues and I was trying to get a copy of them.

I was after:

November 2018 December 2018 Jan 2019 Feb 2019.

The shop skipped these and I can’t get them unless I want to pay nearly $90 NZD from the UK. If you could ask around I would appreciate it.

Kind regards

Glen

Email: [email protected]

______

20 In case you missed the last club night…

The boss at work

Chris’Corsair

21

Gordons Thunderbird 40

A crowd gathers

22 Restored World War II Spitfire begins round-the-world trip

A restored World War II Spitfire has taken off from an English aerodrome on the first leg of a planned 43,000km trip around the globe. Pilots Steve Brooks and Matt Jones hope to circle the world in about four months with stops in 30 countries. They will take turns flying the single-seat Mk IX Spitfire, originally built in 1943, while the other follows in a chase plane. Brooks said that his biggest worry is the weather, adding that "landing is always the tricky part".

We want to share this plane with the world and we've got that opportunity. It's an iconic design. It has taken two years to lovingly restore the iconic plane (IWC Schaffhausen)," he told the Evening Standard.

"It's taken two-and-a-half years of preparation for this journey."

23 The plane's first stop will be Scotland, before it heads west to Iceland, Greenland and North America.The lightweight fighter plane helped defeat the German air force in the Battle of Britain and the Spitfire has become an icon of World War II.

______And what’s been happening at the field……

As usual…….nothing.

24

Walk of shame Gordon ? Excuse 24

25 Precursor to the B2 Stealth ?

The Horten H.IX, RLM designation Ho 229 (or Go 229 for extensive re-design work done by Gotha to prepare the aircraft for mass production) was a German prototype fighter/bomber initially designed by Reimar and Walter Horten to be built by late in World War II. It was the first to be powered by jet engines.[1]

The design was a response to Hermann Göring's call for designs capable of meeting the "3×1000" requirement; namely to carry 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of bombs a distance of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) with a speed of 1,000 kilometres per hour (620 mph). Only jets could provide the speed, but these were extremely fuel-hungry, so considerable effort had to be made to meet the range requirement. Based on a flying wing, the Ho 229 lacked all extraneous control surfaces to lower drag. It was the only design to come even close to the 3×1000 requirements and received Göring's approval. Its ceiling was 15,000 metres (49,000 ft).[2]

26

______

27

Parting Shot:

Alan letting the smoke out at Float Plane Day…(page 9)

28 MODELS FOR SALE

Models for Sale Contact Paul Clausen 027-6243721

Kyosho FW 190 ARF 2.1m wingspan $160

29 Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien 0.46 size $240 (with some spare parts)

30 Coming Events 2019

August 2019  HMAC Club Night Meeting – Annual Club Quiz Night August 14, 2019 7:30 pm - @ Beerescourt Bowling Club Club Rooms, 68A Maeroa Road (behind the tennis pavilion)  HMAC Club Day – Ag Aircraft August 18, 2019 - @ HMAC Reekers Field, 231 Collins Road Hamilton  HMAC Float Plane Day @ Lake D (Kainui) August 25, 2019 9:00 am - @ Lake Kainui (D), Lake Road, Horsham Downs.

September 2019  HMAC Club Night Meeting September 11, 2019 7:30 pm - @ Beerescourt Bowling Club Club Rooms, 68A Maeroa Road (behind the tennis pavilion)  HMAC Club Day September 15, 2019 - @ HMAC Reekers Field, 231 Collins Road Hamilton

Flight Lines September 2019 September Newsletter deadline – Monday 2 September 2019

For further up to date event info please visit: http://www.hamiltonmac.org.nz/

31